


Journey

by icylook



Series: Vergil Surana [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 13:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21198107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icylook/pseuds/icylook
Summary: Vergil gritted his teeth and kept walking, distracting himself from growing fatigue with all kind of questions about the order he could think of.





	Journey

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill - Apple Orchard; starring rare whiny Vergil (he gets better later, months later lol) @panterry I hope it'll bring you a little joy? :D

The first day was fine, he's eager to leave the tower behind as fast as he could. So the long walk wasn't as much of a bother, even when his legs started to tire sooner than later and Duncan announced they had more ground to cover. Vergil gritted his teeth and kept walking, distracting himself from growing fatigue with all kind of questions about the order he could think of. And about Duncan too, though he was more subtle with them, hinting a time or two, that he'd like to know the man even _better_, and wouldn't mind sharing a bedroll. Duncan looked amused, but was polite with his refusal.

They didn't share the bedroll that night, as they took turns in catching a bit of sleep. Vergil got the first watch over their little camp. He wasn't sure what exactly he had to be looking out for, he didn't ask, nevertheless tried to keep himself from falling asleep with practicing some simple spells. When his head hit the sack later, he was snuffed out like a candle. No dreams that night.

Vergil's woken up much too early by Duncan's voice calling him. He was silently thankful the man hadn't tried touching him – he wasn't certain how he could react. He was confused by his surroundings for a moment, the morning cold making him shiver. His skin itched from bug bites and all of the sweat he wasn't able to wash out. All of his body felt so sore, his spine and sides hurt from sleeping on a hard ground, his hips hurt thanks to walking so much the day before, and the muscles in his legs were screaming at him with every move. Vergil wanted to just lie down and sleep.

But it wasn't an option. When Duncan's busy with preparing himself for the trek, Vergil noticed that one of the vials of his bath salts broke in his pack._ Lovely._ He'd be stinky and bloodied by the time they reach Ostagar and the spike of irritation added to his growing frustration. And when he realized _no bathroom meant no latrines_, only nature, his low mood plummeted down even more. He's forced to using leaves, the thought making him shiver with disgust. Thankfully, there's magic and Vergil found comfort in that.

Every stretch of his limbs ached and annoyed him, fabric of his robes already dirtied in places, his hair had dust in it. No time to properly groom himself, _no time at all._ Duncan ignored the foul mood of his recruit, and after short breakfast told Vergil they have even more ground to cover today and they had to hurry.

Vergil barely hid his grimace and almost said something cutting, but kept his mouth shut. An hour into the quick march later he's done.

"I can't feel my legs," He grumbled, "Can't we stop for a moment?"

The look Duncan threw him was carefully neutral, though he's sure he saw a pity there. It made him boil inside.

"We can stop for a few minutes." He observed as Vergil huffed and sat down, another pang of pain in his abused thighs making him know his legs hated him. "You'll shape up in time," Duncan added.

"I don't think I'll be able to _get up_. Don't you people have horses or something?"

Duncan hummed, looking around. "No, not at the moment." There's a twinkle of mischief in his dark eyes, "Would you know how to ride one?"

The grimace on Vergil's face transformed in a blink. "Not particulary, but there are other things I could _ride_," He stressed the word suggestively.

Duncan shook his head, but he looked like he held in a smile. "I think we should move on."

Vergil sighed loudly, slowly getting to his feet and Duncan didn't offer any help, not even looking at him, but at the road ahead of them, with a slight furrow to his brow.

The Warden led Vergil off the path they were walking and he didn't ask why, focused on the pain in his feet. His shoes looked like they'd fall apart at any moment.

Few hours later Vergil started muttering under his breath loud enough to be heard. He was sore, more sore than before, didn't feel his feet. With every step he felt his bones shifting and he's sure he heard Duncan sigh louder than before. Vergil's busy with glaring at the wide shoulders of the man before him to care about Duncan's patience.

He's miserable.

He didn't care about pretty surroundings, about the fresh air, as the merciless sun was beating at his sensitive skin. He's sweaty, dirty and hungry. He wanted to sit down and never get up. And he's done with playing nice. The bag he's carrying was heavier than it had been before, did Duncan put something more in it when he wasn't looking? He scoffed and then abruptly stopped. "I need a break," he announced with strained calm. Duncan just threw him a look above his shoulder without breaking the stride.

"We'll have a break in some time, we have to keep moving." His soothing tone did nothing to Vergil's frayed nerves and he crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm staying where I am," he snapped," I am too hungry to move. _I need to rest,"_ He stood his ground and looked around, before he chose nearby tree to plop under. He really didn't care if Duncan left him behind. He couldn't force him to move, if he didn't want to. And if he tried, he'd get some bits frozen. Easy as that.

His head hit the bark behind his back, and Vergil closed his eyes, tilting his head up with a sigh, willing his body to relax. Duncan muttered something Vergil didn't catch, something spoken in another language and he briefly wondered if the man cursed him, but he shrugged it off. He opened his eyes at the sudden _'catch'_ and fumbled with catching the object thrown at him.

An apple, yellow big apple, warm from the sun and smelling sweet. Vergil glanced at Duncan and the man was standing closer than he thought him to be, one arm full of the fuits. "Where did you get them?"

"Look around."

And he did, blinking, as he only noticed it now. The trees looked wild, twisted and gnawed in places. But, they weren't really wild, just abandoned. The apple trees were planted in rows, paths in between them full of weeds and untamed. An apple orchard. Unkempt and deserted, but full of ripe yellow fruits hanging on old branches. He squinted when he thought he saw something moving in the distance, and he could swear there was a person out there watching them, but he lost them with a blink.

_Ah._ So this was why he felt it would be a good spot for a nap. The lure was so subtle he didn't think-

"We should move on, look for another place to rest." He said suddenly, getting up. Duncan just looked at him, then at the wild path Vergil was staring earlier and nodded. He didn't ask anything more as they kept walking away from the orchard, Vergil munching slowly at the sweet apple. He was so busy thinking in silence for the rest of the day that he didn't notice when they stopped for a camp.


End file.
